The Immigration Minister says it's unlikely arrests will be made while the Indian students here on fraudulent documents are holed up in a church.

LISTEN ABOVE: Lawyer representing the students, Alistair McClymont, speaks with Larry Williams

One student was arrested in Auckland last night and two more were set to be picked up today.

The students don't want to be deoported, and say they had no idea the documents they were sold by Indian education agents were fake.

Minister Michael Woodhouse said his position on the matter hasn't changed, but it's not appropriate for anyone to be taken out or wrestled to the ground in a church.

"It's not unusual for people facing deportation to flee, and it's not unusual for immigration officers to chase them, so that really comes down to the behaviour of the people who are liable for deportation."

Woodhouse said the fact that the students haven't been arrested yet is not because of the media presence.

He said the media has a job to do, and the fact journalists are present at a church in Auckland has nothing to do with whether these students will be arrested or not.

"This is a place of religion, a house of god, and I don't think it's appropriate that people get wrestled to the ground and taken out in a church."

Meanwhile, the Catholic Diocese of Auckland is throwing its weight behind the Indian students.

The church’s Justice and Peace Commission wants Mr Woodhouse to “act with compassion and mercy”, and drop the deportation orders.

“We believe it is not fair to penalise these students who appear to have done nothing wrong,” executive secretary Peter Garrick said.

“It seems quite clear that some details of their applications were falsified by immigration agents in India and not by the students themselves.”

Garrick said the case showed “inadequate systems” had allowed the fraud in the first place, so the situation should be approached on humanitarian grounds.